Pangasius producer Vinh Hoan has paid a visit to one of China’s largest seafood companies to collaborate on “formal pangasius trade”. It comes amid Chinese concerns about low quality pangasius entering the country via the unofficial ‘grey trade’ route.

Zhejiang Ocean Family, which reported revenues of CNY 2.65 billion ($384.5m) in 2016, last week played host to Truong Thi Le Khanh, chairperson of Vinh Hoan, Vietnam’s largest pangasius producer. The two sides discussed the pangasius market, import and exports, their companies’ strengths and pangasius products, said Ocean Family on its website. The firm also added that the two companies “wholly look forward to cooperating in formal pangasius business and trade”.

Vinh Hoan’s visit to Ocean Family follows on the heels of a visit by Japan’s Mitsubishi corporation. General manager Zeng Yuexiang inspected Ocean Family’s “super freezer” tuna processing plant in the free-trade port area of Beilun, Zhejiang Province, east China, according to Ocean Family. Ocean Family has 100,000t of annual tuna processing capacity between its Beilun plant and a canned tuna and freeze-dried food processing facility in Xikou, also in Zhejiang. Ocean Family also appears to collaborate with other international partners, including Pescanova, importing Argentine cold shrimp into China, and Cermaq, importing salmon.

Ocean Family is a large fishing company in its own right. Its fleet consists of 18 super freezer long-line tuna fishing vessels; 4 large-scale tuna purse seiner vessels; and 9 squid fishing vessels, according to its website. Its annual catching of tuna and squids ranges from 40,000t to 50,000t. Last year Ocean Family generated $205 million in foreign exchange through exports, it said. Zhejiang Ocean Family is majority-owned by Chinese auto parts maker and manufacturing conglomerate Wanxiang Group, which is referred to as a “dragon enterprise”.